Fyre Festival c0-founder Ja Rule says he is heartbroken that attendees of the event billed as a “luxury music festival” found it to be anything but luxurious.
The rapper issued a statement on Twitter Friday saying the event was “not a scam” and that, while the problems aren’t his fault, he is taking responsibility.
“I wanted this to be an amazing event it was NOT A SCAM as everyone is reporting,” Ja Rule wrote. “I don’t know how everything went so left but I’m working to make it right.”
He also says attendees — some of which paid as much as $12,000 for a ticket — will be refunded.
— Ja Rule (@jarule) April 28, 2017
The Fyre Festival, which kicked off on Thursday, is held on a private island in the Bahamas “once owned by Pablo Escobar.” Tickets for the high-end festival were being sold for thousands of dollars, with the most popular package going for around $12,000.
But according to accounts on social media, it was anything but a luxury festival. Blink-182, one of the bands that was supposed to play, dropped out last minute. Many attendees described staying in FEMA-like tents and receiving meager meals instead of the high-end cuisine they were promised, due in part to the catering company getting their contract terminated last minute.
To resolve any confusion STARR Catering Group is not providing any catering services at the Fyre Festival. pic.twitter.com/TriMP52tRD
— Constellation (@ByConstellation) April 28, 2017
Now the festival has been postponed.
Read Ja Rule’s full first statement below:
“We are working right now on getting everyone of the island SAFE that is my immediate concern… I will make a statement soon I’m heartbroken at this moment my partners and I wanted this to be an amazing event it was NOT A SCAM as everyone is reporting I don’t know how everything went so left but I’m working to make it right by making sure everyone is refunded… I truly apologize as this is NOT MY FAULT… but I’m taking responsibility I’m deeply sorry to everyone who was inconvenienced by this…”